History of Longridge Lodge

Longridge Lodge No. 8077 came to be formed following a conversation between W Bros W Carefoot PPrJGD and V N Page PM together with Bros C M J Carefoot and A E Simpson at the Broughton Lodge No. 5437 Installation in February 1963. These four brethren who all lived in Longridge decided that they would make a further attempt to establish a Masonic Lodge based on the village of Longridge.

Previous attempts were known to have failed because Longridge, whilst geographically situated in the Masonic Province of East Lancashire, had always been associated with Preston, so that most of the Freemasons in the area were members of West Lancashire Lodges. Naturally they wanted any new Lodge to be consecrated in their own Province. Herein lay the problem. To achieve this required adjustment and agreement between the two Provinces and in the past this had not been forthcoming.

Apart from talking to the then AsstPrGM, W Bro Sir Thomas Hargreaves PGD and the then Group Chairman W Bro Eric W Wells PGD and his officers, these four Brethren decided to keep their idea to themselves until the Provincial problem had been resolved. These senior Freemasons lent their support and it was eventually agreed between the Provinces that provided a substantial number of the Founders were West Lancashire Masons, the new Lodge could be consecrated by that Province and recruit in Longridge.

These discussions ran through 1963 but early in 1964 W Bro W Carefoot became seriously ill and the project was shelved for the remainder of that year. By the beginning of 1965 he had recovered and was ready to start again.

On 22nd February 1965 a letter signed by the four Brethren was sent to every Freemason they could identify in the Longridge area inviting them to a meeting at ‘Woodville’ Longridge on 2nd March 1965. There were 20 Brethren in attendance and eight apologies were recieved. W Bro W Carefoot was appointed Chairman of the meeting with Bro A E Simpson as Secretary. The meeting resolved that a Longridge Lodge be formed and that if possible it was to meet in Longridge. After very full investigation of various venues this latter proposal was found to be impractical and was dismissed. The new Lodge was therefore destined to meet at the Masonic Hall, Saul Street, Preston.

Consultations and meetings went on during 1965 culminating in a Petition bearing the names of 26 Founders being presented and signed at the meeting of Jubilee Lodge No. 5555 on 3rd November 1965. The Founders all had close associations with Longridge and came from a variety of trades and professions.

Amongst them were farmers, builders, teachers, haulage contractors, engineers, local government officers, a football club manager, a butcher, an insurance official, a licensee, an auctioneer and valuer, a building society manager and a corn mill manager. Between them they represented 16 different Lodges (six from their Mother Lodge, Jubilee No. 5555) and four Provinces including West Lancashire. They paid a Founder’s Fee of 20 guineas and the first annual subscription was 7 guineas.

The Consecration and Installation ceremony took place at the Masonic Temple, Saul Street, Preston on Monday 18th April 1966. The Consecrating Officer was RW Bro L E Rutherford, Provincial Grand Master for the Province of West Lancashire. This was followed by the Installation of Bro W Carefoot PPrGD as the first Worshipful Master by W Bro T W Ward PGD, Deputy Provincial Grand Master. Two future Provincial Grand Masters, W Bro K E Moxley PrDepGDC and W Bro Alan Fletcher Ferris PrDepGDC assisted in the Consecration ceremony. Unknown at the time, but also present was a future Deputy Provincial Grand Master, one of the Lodge Founders Bro Tom Blackburn.

The Lodge Begins To Operate

At the first regular meeting of the Lodge on Wednesday 27th April 1966, the Lodge membership was immediately increased by six by the successful balloting for four joining members and two initiates who were both initiated at that meeting.

At this first meeting W Bro A G Nicholls PPrGD was proposed for Honorary Membership together with four Brethren to become Joining Members and four gentlemen to become Initiates. Three of these Joining Members and two of the initiates later occupied the Chair of the Lodge.

In 1968, the average waiting time from application to initiation was from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 years and this necessitated double ceremonies for the first few years of the Lodge’s existence.

From the minutes of the committee meeting on 16th March 1971, it appears that a member produced the Founders’ photo that had been the subject of constant requests to the photographer to produce and also much discussion at the preceding committee meetings. The problem seemed to have been that two of the Founders images had to be superimposed on the original and in the days preceding digital photography this was a very difficult process. However, four years to achieve this seems an inordinate length of time!

Bro Carefoot was subsequently succeeded as Worshipful Master by eight of the Founders, the last of the Founders to occupy the Chair (1889-90) was W Bro T Wadsley PPrJGW (East Lancs). Sixteen Founders eventually attained Provincial Grand rank, three of them, W Bro T Blackburn PrDGDC, A E Simpson PrAGDC and C M J Carefoot PrGStwd being appointed acting officers of the Province. They were later promoted to the Grand rank of PAGDC.

In May 1981, W Bro T Blackburn became the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies for the Province of West Lancashire, an appointment that he occupied with great dignity until 1986. In 1980, he was appointed PAGDC by United Grand Lodge and in 1985, he was appointed to the Acting Rank of Junior Grand Deacon being promoted to the Past Rank of Senior Grand Deacon in 1988. On his retirement as PrGDC in 1986, he became an Assistant Provincial Grand Master with specific responsibility for the 6th and 7th Liverpool Groups. In 1989, he was returned to his Masonic birthplace to succeed the retiring W Bro E C Dickson PSGD as AsstPrGM in charge of the Preston Group of Lodges. On his being appointed Deputy Provincial Grand Master of the Province of West Lancashire, he was promoted to the very high Acting Grand Rank of Grand Sword Bearer and so qualified for the entitlement of V W Bro.

Lodge Furniture & Accoutrements

At the regular meeting on 26th October 1966, the Worshipful Master Bro Walter Carefoot presented a Master’s collar and a solid silver chain subsequently engraved with the names of the Masters of the Lodge which continues to be worn by the incumbent Worshipful Master to this day.

At this point it might be of interest to note that the early Past Masters’ jewels were produced in silver at a cost of £8.15.0 (£8.75). The present cost would be well in excess of £100.

The Tyler’s sword which similarly is still in use today was donated by Bro A H Pinder. This was later suitably inscribed at the expense of two brothers who wished to remain anonymous. Those same two brothers donated a set of working tools which were also inscribed with the Lodge’s details and number. A Brother Fisher of Preston Temple Lodge No. 6233 visited the Lodge with a suitably endorsed VSL explaining that his family had a great many ties with Longridge and that this was his family’s Bible. In due time the Bible fell into disrepair and on 1st June 2010, W Bro Ken Brierley, a Past Warden at Longridge Parish Church, arranged a loan of a Bible from the Parish Church for which a donation of £100 to the parish was subsequently made. At the time of the upgrading of this history the Lodge is still awaiting the dedication of the Bible by the Provincial Grand Chaplain.

The Lodge Crest

It had originally been hoped to use the Longridge UDC Coat of Arms for the Lodge crest but permission to do that was refused. The Founders commissioned Mr Ellis Tomlinson MA FHS, a Heraldic designer to produce samples for a Lodge Crest at a fee of five and a half guineas. The approved design appears on the Founders’ and Past Masters’ jewels, on the Worshipful Master’s silver collar chain and on all Lodge stationary.

W Bro Alan Robinson of Olympia Lodge when compiling a history of Lodge motifs and Banners of Lodges meeting at Saul Street, Preston had the following to say about Longridge Lodge’s crest: “The crest is similar to that used by Longridge Town Council. The rondel enclosing it represents the united County Palatine of Lancashire and the green centre the rural area of Longridge, whilst the two red roses allude to the two Masonic Provinces of East and West Lancashire. The square and compasses are traditional Masonic emblems. The eagle’s claw and the shuttle on which it stands are taken from the Coat of Arms of the Earls of Derby and the old Longridge UDC. There are secondary industrial significations in that the green background represents the farming industry in the area, the claw refers to the intensive poultry and egg production in the Longridge district, whilst the traditional weaving and quarrying find their memorial in the shuttle and the square and compasses.”

The Lodge Banner

The Lodge crest is the centrepiece of the Lodge banner which was presented to the Lodge by one of the Founders, the late W Bro W H Riding PPrJGW (designate).

With the Lodge approaching it’s 21st anniversary, the Founders decided to celebrate that anniversary as they feared that not many of them would be there to see out the 25th Anniversary. Accordingly at the Festive Board in April 1986, the 21st anniversary was celebrated by ten of the remaining Founders together with 57 members and visitors.

By this time the idea of having a Lodge Banner was well to the fore and W Bro Harry Riding had indicated that he would be quite happy to provide the necessary funding. A banner was produced, but it did not find the approval of the Brethren and so a second banner was commissioned. The second banner did find favour and at that Lodge meeting on 24th January 1990, the banner was dedicated. By this time, only 12 of the Founders were still active but together with 142 other Brethren, members and visitors, W Bro Tom Blackburn and a team of Provincial and Group Officers, the Banner was dedicated. W Bro Trevor Wadsley, who was the last of the Founders to occupy the Master’s chair, was the Worshipful Master at the time. The meeting was attended by a galaxy of Brethren whose names read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of eminent Brethren of the Province of West Lancashire in the following few years.

W Bro Tom Blackburn PSGD, who by that time had attained the position of Assistant Provincial Grand Master with responsibility for the Preston Group of Lodges was the Dedicating Officer. He had recently taken this responsibility over from W Bro E C Dickson PSGD who was also present. W Bro Bill Seddon PAGReg and W Bro S P J Reid PPrJGW acted as Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies. Both these Brethren later rose to the position of Assistant Provincial Grand Master, W Bro Reid later achieving the very high position of Deputy Grand Superintendent in the Royal Arch. Two further future Assistant Provincial Grand Masters, W Bro W S Huck PAGReg, Preston Group Chairman and W Bro The Revd Harry Callaghan PrGChaplain were also present. During the ceremony, W Bro Harry Callaghan gave a very interesting and thought provoking oration.

Two of the Founders, W Bros Victor Norman Page PPrJGW and Alf Simpson PAGDC acted as Provincial Senior and Junior Grand Wardens and another, Bro G D Slater acted as Inner Guard. The first initiate, W Bro Wellington Slater PPrSGD acted as PrJGD, and one of the first joining members, W Bro G B Graham PPrSGD acted as PrSGD.

The Founding WM, W Bro Walter Carefoot PPrJGW was the proud Banner Bearer.

At the conclusion of the ceremony the WM presented a cheque to W Bro Tom Blackburn and also W Bro H Boscow - who had manufactured the Banner - presented a cheque for £250. The cheque represented the cost of the Banner paid to him by W Bro Riding and was to be donated to Masonic Charities. Apparently this was the usual custom for W Bro Boscow.

Although he had seen the completed banner, it was most unfortunate that by his untimely death W Bro Riding was not only prevented from being present at the dedication of the Banner he had so generously donated, but also from receiving his high Provincial rank.

Candidates & Active Members

Longridge Lodge, recruiting men as it does from those who have an association with the district, has always had a succession of candidates.

In the early years, the demand for initiation was such that, reluctantly, double ceremonies often had to be worked. It has always been a family Lodge containing blood brothers, fathers and sons, cousins and ‘in-laws’ amongst it’s numbers and at one time had seven members of one family in subscribing membership.

The Lodge has had no less than 16 fathers and sons in membership; five sons have followed their fathers through the chair of the Lodge. The important offices of Secretary and Treasurer have always been non-progressive, subject to annual appointment and in the case of the Treasurer, election.

Bro G D Slater, a Founder, held the office of Secretary from the Consecration until his retirement in 1988, a period of 22 years. In 1981, he was promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Grand Standard Bearer for his long and arduous services to the Lodge.

The first Treasurer was Bro T Wadsley, a founder who subsequently occupied the Chair of his Mother Lodge, Loyal Lodge No. 5040 in the Province of East Lancashire, where he was promoted to the rank of PPrJGW in 1978. In 1989/90, he became the Worshipful Master of Longridge Lodge, the last of the Founders to do so and in 1991 was appointed to the rank of PPrJGW in West Lancashire.

In 1975, a Founder, W Bro A E Simpson represented the Preston Group on the Management committee of the Alpass Fund for Widows. He later became a Grand Officer and served as Group Charity Delegate from 1989 to 1998.

Each year the Lodge is represented by its Worshipful Master and his Lady at the RW Provincial Grand Master’s Charity Ball. The Lodge also supports the Golf, the Bowling and the Clay Pigeon Shooting Societies in their efforts on behalf of the charities.

In 1977, Bro I E Simpson, son of the Founder W Bro A E Simpson, and later a Worshipful Master of the Lodge, won the West Lancashire Masonic Golfing Trophy, at the same time enabling the Lodge to be credited with a handsome donation to charity. After several years as Secretary to the Masonic Golfing Society, a group that raises money for Masonic charities, W Bro C M J Carefoot PAGDC, another Founder, was appointed Chairman.

It would have been a very unfeeling man who was not moved at the meeting on 23rd January 1985 when W Bro William Timbrell PPrJGD celebrated his 50 years in Masonry. He was one of four joining members who had joined the Lodge on the first meeting after the Consecration and six years later initiated his son, Graham, into the Lodge. He passed his son during his year and when his son was raised, he gave the Traditional History and presented the working tools to him. In due time, he was able to present his son to be installed in the Chair of King Solomon and not surprisingly gave the address to him once installed. When his son installed his successor, William presented the Past Master’s jewel to him, which would be a lasting reminder to his son of the close Masonic bond between them. As if this was not enough, he and the Lodge were honoured by the attendance of the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Kilwinning (Scottish Constitution) Rt W Bro D Patterson, accompanied by Bro Clifford Booth, the Master of his Mother Lodge, Mother Lodge of Scotland Mother Kilwinning No. 0. The Lodge was also honoured by the attendance of W Bro E C Dickson PSGD Asst Pr Grand Master and our own W Bro Tom Blackburn PAGDC, Provincial DC.

Unfortunately, there are no longer any of the original Founders left after almost sixty years of existence, with all gone to the Grand Lodge above. A Founder’s night used to be held at the October meeting in alternate years, but this is now obviously impractical. A toast to the Founders is still included at the annual Installation Festive Board.

Charity

The cardinal virtues of Charity and Relief which all initiated into Freemasonry are exhorted to practice have always been well supported by the Brethren of Longridge Lodge. Before the Lodge was consecrated, the Founders made a donation to the 1966 RMIG Festival and did extremely well in its support of the 1981 RMBI Festival under the leadership of W Bro C M J Carefoot and the Lodge became a patron. Another Founder W Bro A E Simpson represented the Preston Group of Lodges on the Provincial Appeals Committee for this 1981 Festival.

In September 1982, the Lodge became a Grand Patron of the Royal Masonic Hospital, now no longer in existence. The Lodge also became a patron of the Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls and later a Grand Patron of the New Masonic Samaritan Fund (which came into being when the Royal Masonic Hospital closed) 2010 Festival.

The Lodge has always been well served by its Charity Officer, one of whom, W Bro G B Graham PPrSGD, was representative for the 1997 Festival. During his tenure as Charity Steward, W Bro Graham organised several Sportsmen’s Evenings. He was a member of the FA Council having been elected at the expense of Bobby Charlton of Manchester United. These meetings were, by dispensation, especial Lodge meetings specifically for the purpose of raising monies for Masonic charities. The guest speakers being well known sportsmen, journalists and administrators who were all members of the Craft. These evenings were always well attended and very financially successful.

The first in May 1979 raised £298 for the RMBI, the speakers being Bro Stanley Mortenson of Blackpool 1953 Cup Final fame, Bro Pat Partridge FIFA and World Cup referee and a well-known local celebrity Bro Goldie Goldsmith who styled himself as “Sportsman Extraordinaire”.

The second raised £500 for the Royal Masonic Hospital and £100 for West Lancashire Charities. The speakers being W Bro Eric Alexander of Manchester United FC, W Bro Don Evans, Senior Sports Writer for the News of the World, a Football League referee, Bro Neil Midgley and the Assistant Manager of Newcastle United, Bro Tom Cavanagh, ex Preston North End and Manchester United.

W Bro Graham and a friend of his, Jim Thomson from Maidstone, were instrumental in setting up the Football Conference League, an amalgamation of the Northern Premier and Southern Premier Leagues - and also with qualifying for automatic promotion to the Football League Division 2 as it is now. Before the Conference was formed, Non-League clubs had to apply for election to the Football League, which was seldom successful as the “old boys club” came into operation. The Conference did away with that and automatic promotion and relegation was implemented.

Whilst making significant donations to the Masonic Charities in general and other gifts to non-Masonic worthy causes, the Lodge has its own private Benevolent Fund. This was set up in 1974 when £200 was allocated from the Social Fund to form a fund to be used only in emergency to assist any brother in need. This was greatly enhanced by a wonderful donation of £5,000 from the late W Bro W H Riding shortly before his death. This fund is still in a very healthy state.

In Civic duty, in serving the community, two of our Lodge members have served as Mayor of Ribble Valley, Harry Riding 1978/1979 and Simon Hore in 2011/2012.

Another Founder, Jim Riding, donated some of the stained glass windows which are installed in Longridge Parish Church.

Social Matters

On the social scene, the Lodge regularly holds a Ladies’ Evening, normally in February of each year and used to hold an informal social in December. In addition to this regular event, successive Masters hold social events of their choice during the summer recess. All the widows of deceased Lodge members are invited to the Ladies’ Evenings and many of them in the past attended.

It was originally a tradition that our Ladies’ Evenings do not remain at one venue for too long. The first in 1967 was held at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Clayton-le-Moors and another was one of the first social events to be held at the then new Preston Guild Hall. For the past few years, in support of our Masonic home, they have been held at the Wyrebank, Garstang.

Our Masonic Home

At a meeting of the Lodge on 26th October 2005, a proposition was made that the Lodge meet at the Harris Park Conference and Function Centre, Garstang Road in Fulwood. The reason for this was that the Masonic Hall at Saul Street was in dire financial straits and an increasing financial burden was being placed on every member of Lodges and Chapters meeting there. The proposition was duly seconded and every one of the 25 members present voted in favour.

Two months later, on 25th January 2006, the Lodge held its first meeting at Harris Park. The Lodge continued to meet there until 2009 when the University of Central Lancashire decided to move their Hospitality Suite to a location on Lea Road. The premises not being found suitable for Masonic use, on 22nd April 2009, an unanimous decision was made to transfer to the recently, purpose built Masonic Hall at Wyrebank Garstang where the first meeting of the Lodge at those premises took place on 16th September 2009. This move from Preston to Garstang also meant that the Lodge was reallocated from Preston Group to Lancaster Group.

The Brethren was very proud of their new home and on the 16th September 2009, to show it off, held the first of several successful ‘Ladies and non-Masons to dine evenings’, which resulted in an influx of younger men expressing an interest in becoming Freemasons and members of Longridge Lodge. These evenings usually included entertainment and a talk from a representative of a local or national charity and the evening took the form of a very successful fund raising evening for the particular charity represented.

To End

Finally, no record of this Lodge would be complete without an acknowledgement of the gratitude the Lodge owes to its senior Founder W Bro W Carefoot PPrJGW. He was initiated into Jubilee Lodge No. 5555 in 1936 and was its Worshipful Master in 1948/49. He was Director of Ceremonies of that Lodge from 1961 to 1966, and in 1966 became the first Worshipful Master of Longridge Lodge.

He celebrated his Golden Jubilee in Freemasonry in his Mother Lodge on 2nd March 1986 when a large number of Longridge Masons were present to support him. Sadly and inevitably, he was called to the Grand Lodge above but the debt that Longridge Lodge owes to him remains and is still incalculable.